QA

Quick Answer: What Is An Impact Wrench

What do you use an impact wrench for?

An impact wrench, also known as an impact driver or an impact gun, is designed to tighten or untighten bolts. It is commonly used in mechanical and industrial applications, for example when changing tires and disassembling car wheels, or performing maintenance on oil platforms.

What is the difference between an impact wrench and a drill?

An impact driver is more compact and lightweight by design. It also has more torque than a power drill. Unlike a drill, impact drivers do not have a chuck. Instead, they feature a quick-change clamp that holds drill bits and driver bits with a hexagonal shank.

Can you use an impact wrench as a drill?

An impact driver, like our 20V 1/4″ 3-Speed Brushless Impact Driver, is a tool that is made specifically for driver screws. A cordless impact driver or drill on its own cannot replace a power drill. Impact drivers are not designed to drill holes and they can’t take all of the accessories that a cordless drill can.

Is impact wrench necessary?

For instance, you should definitely purchase an impact wrench if you work in an auto repair shop or if you’re in charge of maintaining machinery. The high power of the impact wrench allows you to easily take out or tighten bolts used in trucks or cars.

Can you drive screws with an impact wrench?

Like the cordless drill, an impact driver uses rotational force to drive a screw and saves its bursts of quick power when it feels resistance. You would use an impact driver for long screws or large fasteners when working with wood. An impact driver is also lighter than the hammer drill, making it easier to handle.

Do I need special sockets for an impact wrench?

Impact sockets can be used safely on a hand tool, however you should never use a regular hand tool socket on an impact wrench as this can be extremely dangerous. A regular socket is likely to shatter when used on power tools due to their thinner wall design and the material they’re made from.

How much torque do I need in an impact wrench?

An impact wrench needs about 500 ft-lbs of torque to remove lug nuts. In most cases, you will need the same amount of torque you used to tighten the lug nut in order to remove it. So, if you over-tightened it, you might need more than 500 ft-lbs torque.

Is an impact driver the same as a rattle gun?

An impact wrench (also known as an impactor, impact gun, air wrench, air gun, rattle gun, torque gun, windy gun) is a socket wrench power tool designed to deliver high torque output with minimal exertion by the user, by storing energy in a rotating mass, then delivering it suddenly to the output shaft.

Does an impact driver have reverse?

All cordless impact drivers have a reverse function which allows the chuck to turn backwards as well as forwards. On most models, you can alternate between forward and reverse by pushing the forward/reverse button on the side of the tool.

Can I use regular bits in an impact driver?

The answer is no. As explained, regular drill bits are not designed to withstand the stress of the torque an impact driver outputs. As a result, if stress-tested, regular drill bits with hex ends placed in impact drivers can easily snap which could also break the impact driver itself.

Do you need a pilot hole with an impact driver?

I recommend pilot holes for the best results, if the size of fastener small and type of material soft, you can get away without it, the impact drivers really do help.

Can a cordless impact wrench remove lug nuts?

Impact wrenches are found in the tool chests of mechanics everywhere. But cordless 18V impact wrenches are now readily available and have the type of power to loosen lug nuts that are roughly tightened at 100 feet of torque. They are also still extremely loud so hearing protection should be worn when using them.

Can an impact driver loosen a bolt?

They don’t just rotate, but rather they rotate in a powerful pulsed way, imparting a kind of vibration to the rotation. This makes impact wrenches much better suited to removing seized nuts and bolts than any hand wrench.

When should you use an impact driver?

Use the impact driver when you want to drive most fasteners, except for very short ones. An impact driver is especially good for uses like driving 3-inch screws into wood, a task that is difficult for a drill even with pre-drilling the hole. Impact drivers excel at driving fasteners into dense or knotty wood.

Why are impact sockets black?

Impact sockets are typically black. This is because the surface is carbonized in order for it to harden. Ensuring that the surface is hard allows the sockets to absorb sudden torque changes i.e. “impact” a lot better.

What type of sockets should be used with an impact wrench?

Tip 4 – Impact Sockets Your impact wrench should always be used with impact sockets designed for this purpose. Impact sockets are often distinguished from regular sockets by their thicker walls and flat black appearance, which is a result of their hardening process.

What kind of sockets do you use with an impact wrench?

Impact sockets are also ‘black’ coated which is a black oxide coat preventing the socket from corrosion. Hex sockets are the most common types of sockets. They are mainly available in two types;namelyhex/6 point sockets and bi-hex/12 point sockets.